Method of and machine for separating shoes and their lasts



July 23, 1929. M. F. BROGAN METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR SEPARATING snoss AND THEIR LASTS Filed Dec. 11 1924 Patented July 23,1929.v

UNITED S A'EN'E OFFICE.

MICHAEL F. 'IBROGAN, OF LAW'RENGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW.

JERSEY. I

METHOD OF AND MACHINE r03 SEPARATING snons AND THEIR LASTS.

Application filed. December 11, 1924. Serial No. 755,285.

This invention relates to methods of and machines forseparating shoes and their lasts,

such operation being commonly termed last pulling. Considered in its machine aspect the invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine of the general type illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent No. 1,383,284, granted July 5, 1921, on an application filed in the name of the present applicant.

In the use of a machineof the abovementioned typeto separate a shoe and its last, the counter portion of the upper is firmly gripped between jaws which remain stationary throughout the continuance of the I movement of the last proceeds, considerable strain is imposed upon the upper, this strain being localized largely at the throat of the vamp and reaching its maximumintensity during the combined heightwise and length wise movement of the last in the latter part of the separating operation. Vith this in view, in machines organized as set forth in the Letters Patent above referred to, the means employed to impart the lengthwise rearward movement to the last is especially designed and is particularly eflective to relieve the strain upon the upper. In some cases, however, where shoes having light weight uppers of extremely non-elastic or tender stock are being-operated upon, and especially narrow-'throated pumps having such uppers, there is still liability of undesirably straining the upper at the throatof the vamp and thus injuring it during the last pulling operation.

With the above difficulty in, mind, one object of the present invention is to provide for still further relieving the strain upon the upper of a shoe resulting from the operation of separating the shoe and its last and thus to avoid any possibility of damaging a shoe during the separating operation no matter what quality of upper stock is Used or how throatof the ramp is shaped. i

In carrying out this object, the invention, in one aspect provides an improved method of separating a shoe and its last which consists in holding one of said articles in a manner to prevent bodily movement thereof while moving the other of said articles'relatively to said held article to effect a partial separation, and thereafter holding said held article in a different manner to permit bodily movement thereof, thereby enabling said held article to accommodate itself to changes of position of said other article, while further moving said other article relatively to said held article to complete the separation of said articles.

In practising this improved method by the aid of the illustrative machine, a shoe mounted upon a last is placed in inverted position between gripper jaws which are closed against the upper at opposite sides of the counter and which firmly clamp the shoe in a manner to prevent it from changing its position. The last is first moved down wardly to withdraw the heel portion thereof to a point below the edge of the shoe counter. Thereafter a combined downward and rearward movement is imparted to the last to extract it from the forepart of the shoe.

drawn downwardly with the last, and as a result the downward movement of the last, which takes place concurrently with the rearward or heelward movement of the last, will beiincapable of increasing the downward strain upon the upper particularly at the throat off the vamp, and damage to the shoe resulting from such strain is therefore avoided. It must be understood, however,

that the practise of the method is not dependent upon use of apparatus such as that provided by the illustrative machine.

The partial release of the pressure of the gripper jaws above referred to operates further to prevent crushing of the counter portiofrof theshoe after the heel of the last has been, Withrlr'awn from the shee more, by relieving the pressure of the gripper jaws so'that a shoe may tilt freely during the combined downward and rearward movement of the last, there will be no tendency for the shoe'to bend at the shank during the lat ter part of the last pulling operation and consequently the upper will not be unduly stretched or' distorted in a manner to cause I relatively to the gripping means, of means for relatively moving said support and said gripping means to separate the shoe and the last,

and means for partially relieving the grip ping pressure from the shoe before the separating movementhas been completed.

In accordance with another feature, the gripping means is so constructed and arranged that when the gripping pressure is partially relieved, as above described, said means will serve as an abutment or back gage for positively holding the shoe against the rearward pull of the last.

The invention further consists in the novel features of construction and combinations and, arrangements of parts hereinafter de scribed and claimed, the advantages of which willbe apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following description.

. In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view, partially in side elevation and partially in section, of a machine embodying various features ofthe present invention, and

Fig. 2 1s a View, partially in plan and partially in section, of a portion of the machine shownin Fig. 1, illustrating particularly the manner in which a shoe is clamped by the gripper jaws.

Except as hereinafter described, the machine shown in the drawings corresponds sub- 7 stantially to the machine illustrated and described in the patent previously referred to,

and accordingly a detailed description of'the mechanism common to the two machines is not necessary herein, reference being had, if desired, to said patent for a more thorough understanding of the construction and-mode of operation of said mechanism.

Briefly described, the illustrated machine comprises a suitable frame 10, a movable last support 12, a pair of gripper jaws 1.4 for supporting a shoe on the last, and mechanism'for operating the last support and the gripper jaws, said mechanism being actuatedthrough a definite cycle by cams on a main shaft 16 controlled bystopping and starting mechanism including a clutch 18 operated either by depression of a treadle 20 or by an upward pull on a chain 22 connected with the last support. The gripperjaws 14 are carried at the inner ends of stems 24 formed by telescoping sections between which are seated relief springs 26. The stems 24 are, movable .in stationary slideways 28 and are operated by a cam disk 30 on the main shaft '16 through connections comprising a bell crank lever 32 and a push bar 84: carrying a cross-head 36 which is acted upon by springs 38 and is intermittently thrust forward by the lever 32. The opposite ends of the cross-head 36am connected with adjacent gripper-carrying stems 24 through links 40, levers 42 and rods l4. The last support 12 carries alast pin 46 on which a lasted shoe is placed and said support is secured to one end ofa bell-crank lever 48 arrangedto be pulled downwardly to withdraw a last from a shoe by. means of a link 50 and a lever 52 o'perated by a thrust rod 54 which, in turn, is actuated by a suitable cam on the shaft 16. The outer end of the bellcraiik lever l8 is supported by a two-part spring 56 secured to the link 50 at 58. Thelever 52 is pulled upwardly, so far as permitted by the thrust rod 54;, by means of a weight 60 connected with the lever 52 by means of a chain 62 passing over a pulley 64.

When a lasted shoe has been placed upon the last pin 46, the starting mechanism is tripped, in a manner hereinafter to be explained, tostartthe operation of themachine under power and the main shaft 16 makes onehalf a revolution (representing one cycle of the machine) and then is brought to rest. During the first portion of the cycle, the cam disk 30 operates, through the lever 32, to advance the push-rod 84; against the resistance of the springs 38 toclose the gripper jaws 1a yieldingly togrip the counter portion of the shoe while the link 50 is moved downwardly to pull the last out of the shoe. As the link 50 moves downwardly, the lever48 and the last support 12 change their relative positions and lines of pull in response to resistance offered by the shoe to the pulling of the last therefrom, the spring 56 being" compressed during the withdrawal of the heel partof the last and subsequently expanding to impart a rearward component of movement to the last to cause it to be withdrawn lengthwise from the forepart of the shoe in a manner tending torelieve the strain upon the upper. The gripper jaws are then opened to permit the removal of the shoe and subsequent insertion of another lasted shoe in position to be operated upon.

Except for changes in the construction of the cam 30 and arrangement of the last sup port 12, hereinafter specifically referred to, the construction and arrangement of all .the parts above mentioned may be and is shown as being the same as that of corresponding parts in the machine of the patent above referred to.

In order to supplement the action of the spring 56 in relieving the strain upon the I sure of the grippers.

upper andthereby to insure against damage to the shoe resulting from excessive SlZIZUIl at the throat of the vamp or from the pressure of the gripper aws after the heel portion of the last has been withdrawn from the counter portion of the shoe, the present invention provides for some bodily movement of the shoe immediately after the bottom of the heel of the last has been pulled down to a point below the edge of the shoe counter, thus enabling the shoe to shift its position relatively to the gripper jaws so that it may accommodate itself to the changing position of the last as the last is moved in a curved path determined by the simultaneous downward and lengthwise heelwa-rd movements of the last. lVhen the-method of this invention is practised by the aid of a machine of the illustrative type, this may be accomplished by relieving the shoe holding pres- To this end, in the illustrated machine, the cam is so constructed that after the cam lever 32 has been actuated (by a rise 66 in the cam) to thrust forward the push bar 36% so as to close the jaws 14 into gripping engagement with the shoe, and after the gripper jaws have been held in closed position (by a dwell 68 in the cam) until the heel portion of the last has been pulled downbelow the-shoe counter, a roll carried by the cam lever 32 encounters a slight drop 70 in the cam which permits the springs 38 to retract the push bar 36L and the cross-head 36so as to relieve somewhat the compression of the springs 26 and thus partially to relieve the pressure with which thegripper jaws are held against the shoe,

A dwell 72 in the cam 30 causes the gripper jaws to continue to grip the shoe under reduced pressure until the last support has been moved sufficiently to withdraw the last from the shoe. It will be apparent from the foregoing that the modification of the action of the shoe holding means by the drop 70 and the dwell 72 takes place during the lat ter portion of the last pulling movement. After the gripping pressure has been re duced, as above described, the shoe is not entirely released but merely is held less firmly clamped, the shoe being thereafter free to tilt between the gripper jaws so that the forepart of the shoe may partake of the downward movement of the last as the latter is being withdrawn from the forepart of the shoe. Thus the spring 56 is permitted to function to move the shoe bodily downward with the last and little or no relative downward movement is permitted to occur bctweenthe last and the shoe. Consequently the shoe upper offers less resistance to the removal of the last in the final stage of the separating movement and less strain is imposed upon the upper than would be the case if the shoe were firmly held jaws at this time,

by the gripper After the last support has reached a positionwherein the last has been entirely withdrawn from the shoe, the roll'carried by the cam lever reaches a drop 74 in the cam 30 which is effective to restore the gripper aws to normal open orinoperative positions, thus entirely releasing. the shoe and enabling another lasted shoe to be placed between the j gripper jaws in position to be operated upon at the next cycle of the maehine- As heresible crushing of the counter portion of the upper by the gripper aws themselves, after the heel end of the last has been pulled down below the top edge of the counter. The partial relief of gripping pressure further positively insures againstwrinkling of the counter portions of the upper'due to bending of the shoe at the shank such as might occur if the shoe were held tightly clamped be tween the gripper jaws during the relative downward movement of the last.

In the illustrated machine the last support 12 is so positioned when the machine is idle,

as shown in Fig. 1, that a shoe on a lastcarq ried by said support is located in position to construction renders it unnecessary for the operator manually to lift the last support as has been necessary heretofore properly to position the shoe relatively to the gripper aws prior to starting the machine'for each last pulling operation In order that the clutch 18 may be conveniently operated to start the machine a hand lever 76 is pi voted at 78 to the last support 12 and is connected by means of the chain 22 with one end of a lever 80 which is pivoted at 82 to a lixed portion of the frame 10 and the opposite end of which is connected by a link 84 with the forward portion of the foot treadle 20, the arrangement being such that when the hand lever 7 6 is raised, relatively to the last support 12', from the full line position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted line pea sition of said figure, the treadle 2O willbe depressedand the clutch 18 will be operated to an updraw device consisting of a pair of springs 86' arranged to pull upwardly upon the last support throughout the cycle of operations of the machine. As shown the springs 86 are arranged one at either side of the last support, each spring being secured at its lower end to the last support and at its upper end to a fixed portion/of the frame 10. The

. in a uniformly efficient manner at all times.

The springs 86; are further arranged to diverge upwardly from their points of connection with the last support and thus tend to hold the last support in a central position relatively to the gripper jaws 14. As shown in Fig. 2, the last support 12 is loosely pivoted to the bell cranklever l8 so that it is enabled to move laterally to a limited extent to adjust itself in accordance with the resistance offered by the shoe to the removal of the last. The springs 86 permit such lateral movement of the last support as may be required, al.- though tending at all times to maintain the last support in a central position. i v

If the operator desires to do so he may retain his grip upon the starting lever 76 throughoutthe cycleof the machine and he is thus enabled to modifyathe movement of thelast support to facilitate the performance of the last pulling operation. The operator, however, is free to release the lever 7 6 at any time after the beginning of a cycle of operations inasmuch as the springs 86 will yieldingly sustain the last support after the resistance offered by the shoe to the withdrawal of the last has been overcome and thus will control the movement of the last support at the end of the separating movement and during the return of the last'support to normal position.

In the operation of the illustrated machine,

after the heel portion of the last has been pulled below the edge of the counter and the pressure of the gripper jaws has been par-,

lever 76 has also been released by the oper-.

ator the springs 86 prevent the last support from dropping suddenly against the forwardly extending arm of the bell crank lever 48 and serve yieldingly to support and centralize thelast support throughout the remainder of the cycle.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The process of separating a shoe and its last which consists in holding one of said articles in a manner to prevent bodily movement thereof while movingthe'other of said articles relatively to said held article to effect a 7 partial separation between them, and thereafter holding said held article in a different manner to permit bodily movement thereof,

thereby enabling said held article toaccommodate itself to changes of position of said other article, while further moving said other article relatively to said held article to complete the separation of said articles.

2. The process of separating ashoe and its last which consists in firmly gripping the shoe in a manner to prevent bodily movement thereof while moving the lastrelatively. to the shoe to separate-the respective heel portions of the last and the shoe, and thereafter gripping the shoe less firmly to.permit bodily movement'thereof while further movingthe last relatively to the shoe to complete the separation of the shoe and the last.

c 3. The process of separatingshoes and lasts which consists in holding a'shoe mounted on alast in a manner to prevent bodily movement of the shoe, moving the lastrelatively to the shoe to separate the heel portions thereof, partially relieving'the holding pressure to permit bodily movement-of the shoe, and

thereafter completing the separation of the last and the shoe. r

4. The process of separating shoes and lasts which consists in holding a shoe mounted on a lastin. a manner to prevent movement of the shoe relatively-to the holding means, moving the last relatively to the shoe to separate the heel portions thereof, partially relieving,

the holding pressure, thereafter completing the separation of the last and the shoe, and then entirely relieving the holding pressure.

5. The process of separating shoes and lasts which consists in holding a shoe in a manner to prevent it from changing its position, moving the last in a heightwise direction to withdraw the heel portioniof the last from the shoe, and then withdrawing the forepart of the last from the shoe while holding the shoe in a different manner to permit bodily movement of the shoe to enable the shoe to accommodate itself to changing positions of the last.

6. The processof separating shoes and lasts which consists in relatively moving a shoe.

and its last-to separate the heel portions therei of while the shoe is held in a manner to prevent movement of the shoe relativelyto the holding means, and then partially relieving the holding pressure while simultaneously continuing the movement of separation.

7. The process of separating shoes and lasts which consists in holding a shoe mounted in inverted position on a last in a manner tending to prevent movement of the shoe relatively, to the holding means, moving the last down wardly to extract the heel portion thereof from the shoe, effecting combined downward and rearward movement of the last to complete the separation of the last and the shoe, and partially relieving the holding pressure during the combined downward and rearward movement of the last to permit the shoe to accommodate itself freely to changes the position of the last.

8. In a machine for separating a shoe and a last, a support for the last and the shoe, means normally operative to hold the shoe in a manner to prevent bodily movement thereof, means for moving said support relatively to said holding means to separate the shoe and the last, and means for modifying the action of the shoe holding means to permit bodily movement of the shoe before the separating movement is completed.

9. In a machine for separating a shoe and a last, means for holding said shoe in a manner to prevent movement of the shoe with respect to the holding means, means for moving the last relatively to said holding means to separate the shoe and the last, and means for modifying the action of said holding means to permit movement of the shoe with respectto said holding means before the separation of the shoe and the last is completed.

10. In a last pulling machine, a support for a last, means normally operative to hold a shoe in a manner to prevent tilting movement of the shoe, means for moving said last support relative to said shoe holding means to pull the last from the shoe, and means for modifying the action of the shoe holding means during the latter portion of the last pulling movement to facilitate the removal of the last from the shoe.

11. In a machine for separating a shoe and a last wherein a support is provided for the last and the shoe is gripped in a manner to prevent movement thereof relatively to the gripping means, means for relatively moving said support and said gripping means to separate the shoe and the last, and means for relievin the gripping pressure from the shoe before the separating movement has been completed.

12. In a machine of the class described, a support for a last, a device for gripping a shoe mounted on the last, means for relatively moving said support and said device for separating the shoe and the last, and means for operating said device to grip the shoe at the beginning of said separating movement and to relieve the gripping pressure before the completion of said movement.

13. In a machine of he class described, a support for a last, a device for gripping a shoe on the last, means for pulling the last from the shoe, and means for operating said device to rip the shoe at the beginning of the last pulling movement and to relieve the gripping pressure before the completion of said movement, said device being constructed and arranged to engage the rear of the shoe after the gripping pressure has been relieved to hold the shoe against the pull of the last.

let. In a machine of the class described, a support. for a last, a device for gripping a shoe mounted on the last, means for relatively moving saic support and said device for separating the shoe and the last, and means for ment and to hold the shoe under relieved pressureso as to permit movement of the shoe relatively to saiddevice during the latter part of the separatlng movement.

16. In a machineof the class described, a support for a last, a pair. of aws for engag ng op posite sides of the counter portion of a shoe on the last, means for relatively moving said support and said jaws to separate'the shoe and the last, and means for yieldingly closing said jaws upon the shoe to hold the shoe during said separating movement and for opening the jaws to release the shoe at the completion of said movement,'said means operating also partially to relieve the gripping pressure of said jaws during a portion of said separating movement.

17. In a machine of the class described, a supportfor a last, a pair of aws forengaging opposite sides of the counter portion of a shoe on the last, means for relatively moving said support and said jaws to'separate the shoe and the last, and means for yieldingly closing said jaws upon the shoe to hold the shoe during said separating movement and for partially relieving the gripping pressure of the jaws during a portion of said separating movement. I

18. In a machine of the class described, a support for a last, a support for a shoe on the last, power-actuated mechanism for relatively moving said supports to separate the shoe and the last, a clutch controlling the application of power to said mechanism, and means including a lever mounted upon the last support and manually movable relatively thereto into and out of position for operating the clutch to start the machine and for use in modifying the relative movement of said supports.

19. In a machine of the class described, means for gripping and supporting a shoe mounted on a last, movable means'for supporting a last in a substantially horizontal position said means being movable relatively to said gripping means to extract the last from the shoe, and means for operating said last supporting means constructed and arranged normally to hold a shoe on a last car ried by said support in position to be en gaged by said gripping means.

20. In a machine of the class described, means for gripping and supporting a shoe mounted on a last, a last support arranged to supporta last in a substantially horizontal position and movable downwardly relatively to said gripping means to extract the last from the shoe, means for operating the last support constructed and arranged normally to hold a shoe on a. last carried by said support in position to be engaged by said gripping means, and means for exerting an up- Ward pull on the last support throughout the last pulling operationv e 21. In a machine of the class described, means for gripping and supporting a shoe mounted on a last, a last support movable relatively to said gripping means to extract the last from the shoe, means for operating the last supportconstructed and arranged normally to hold a shoe on a last carried by said support in position to be engaged by said gripping means, and a pair of springs located one at each side of the lastsupport and arranged to pull upwardly upon the last support along lines divergingupwardly therefrom. V

22. In amachine of the class described, a support for a shoe on a last, a support for the last, power-actuated mechanism including a member pivotally connected With one end of the last support ifor moving the last support relatively to the shoe support to pull the last from the shoe, said means being constructed and arranged normally to hold the shoe in position to be engaged by the shoe support, and yielding means for supporting the free extremity of the last support;

In testimony whereof I have signed. my name to'this specification.

MICHAEL F. BROGAN. 

